Brave does not tell the story you are expecting. From its trailer and you might anticipate a fantastic adventure, or a dark fairy tale, not a moralistic fable about the distance between parents and their children.

Neither a leap forward or backward for Pixar, it’s more of a lateral step, filled with gentle slapstick comedy and warm, human characters. I hesitate to use the word “simple” as that implies a lack of quality, when in fact its very lack of complexity makes Brave a welcome, if not totally important, addition to the Pixar canon. While recent titles have taken audiences through a gauntlet of philosophy (WALL-E), emotion (Up, Toy Story 3) and action (Cars 2), Brave is a walk in the park.

Our heroine is Merida (Kelly McDonald), daughter to King Fergus (Billy Connolly) and Queen Elinor (Emma Thompson), surprisingly benevolent rulers in medieval Scotland. Merida is an adventurous spirit, her heart belonging to archery. There is hope she will marry the brood of a rival clan, but the suitors that show up are clearly not the sharpest arrows in the quiver. The best parts of Brave are comedic, as this mass of idiots tries to hold a legitimate competition while brawls break out at the drop of a hat.

Frustrated, Merida retreats to the woods. She comes upon a witch promising to cure her parental woes, particularly with Elinor, the less passive parent. Think about that. This isn’t a story about a girl and her brother, or father, or love interest, but two female characters, neither of whom is a callous bitch. For a major motion picture studio that is a very unusual dynamic. I can’t say that Brave is completely successful in all ways but it tries to speak to women, young and old, on their own terms. That’s downright ballsy. 


I won’t reveal how the witch helps Merida or what it means to the plot, suffice to say it takes an odd turn. Her interference reduces the scope of Brave, one of the two or three most visually impressive films Pixar has made, into a somewhat myopic domestic squabble. There is a beautifully realized Scotland beyond the castle walls that we see far too little of.

At 93 minutes Brave is the shortest Pixar film since Monsters Inc. (2001). Keep that brevity in mind and you’ll get a pleasant, not-exactly life-changing afternoon with your kids.

Directors: Brenda Chapman and Mark Andrews
Disney / Pixar, 93 minutes
Rating: 3/5

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